Poultry retailers threaten strike
A vendor sells poultry meat at a shop in a Karachi’s neighbourhood on Wednesday. Photo: Jalal Qureshi/ express
Poultry dealers and retailers across the Rawalpindi district have threatened a strike, saying their shops would stay closed on Tuesday as they demand increasing their markup to Rs30 from Rs20, it emerged Saturday. They said that inflation had a blanket increase on costs which was eating into their profit.
Leaders of a local collective of poultry dealers told The Express Tribune that for the last 30 years, retailers were allowed to sell chicken at a profit of Rs20 above the wholesale price.
For example, if the wholesale price of chicken is Rs350, the retailer can sell it for Rs370 per kg.
An office holder of the collective, Aurangzeb Khan said that the markup was not feasible in the current environment, with poultry sellers incurring losses.
Another office holder, Faisal Mehmood said they would continue the protest until the markup was increased to Rs30.
In the first phase, it would be a one-day strike on November 21. In the second phase, the shutter-down strike would be for an indefinite period, they said.
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They pointed out that the district does not produce enough chicken to meet local demand. The chicken is supplied from farms in adjoining areas including Sargodha, Khushab and Bhakkar.
A system is in place where wholesalers put up chicken for auction at a fixed price. However, the current rate set by the district administration was not acceptable to retailers.
They added that retailers have to pay the cost of transportation and pay a 5 per cent tax.
The ancillary costs have also increased such as electricity, rent or the price of polythene bags.
As part of the strike, chicken meat would not be supplied to any hotel or restaurant. It would also not be available for customers.
The collective’s representatives said they intend to meet the deputy commissioner on Monday in an attempt to resolve the issue and get the desired increase in markup. If it is unsuccessful, we will go ahead with the strike on Tuesday, they said.
Meanwhile, the price magistrate said the butchers not only sell chicken meat but also other organs of the chicken which increases their profit significantly.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 19th, 2023.